A local art fair in Columbia, South Carolina hosted eight free weddings for LGBTQ+ couples last Sunday after raising $3,500 for a transgender rights organization.
Y’all-Mart, a quarterly art fair, was created by queer curators Caitlyn Viars and her partner Candace in 2021 after they noticed eclectic creators’ need for a market space in Columbia. The two have kept the event going ever since.
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“The government will never be the source of our validation or protection.”
In a January 20 Instagram post, the pair announced that they would be officiating same-sex weddings during their first quarterly event of the year held at the Art Bar on February 9. They aptly named the event Yallentine’s — a combination of the romantic holiday Valentine’s and “y’all,” an inclusive and friendly southern phrase for “you all.”
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The weddings, officiated by an ordained minister, included cupcakes, flowers, photography and bolo ties.
The duo charged $100 per wedding, with the proceeds going towards the Harriet Hancock Center’s Gender Marker Fund, a fund to help transgender, non-binary, and intersex people change their legal name and assigned gender on government-issued documents.
The event’s initial goal was to raise $2,000 for the fund, but it surpassed this goal by raising $3,500. To celebrate the their fundraiser’s success, they officiated the weddings of eight couples for free.
The weddings included Christine Fowler and Sharon Thrailkill, who had their first date at the market and met through the art fair’s founders.
Y’all Mart co-founder, Caitlyn Viars, officiated all the weddings. In her invocations, she spoke of the many challenges facing queer couples today and asked everyone in attendance to show solidarity to the newlyweds in the days to come.
“It’s almost a form of a [dissent]. It shouldn’t be, but it is,” Viars said.
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